editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Before joining KBIA in July 2012, Kristofor Husted reported for the science desk at NPR in Washington. There, he covered health, food and environmental issues. His work has appeared on NPR’s health and food blogs, as well as with WNYC, WBEZ and KPCC, among other member stations. As a multimedia journalist, he's covered topics ranging from the King salmon collapse in Northern California to the shutdown of a pollution-spewing coal plant in Virginia. His short documentary, “Angela’s Garden,” was nominated for a NATAS Student Achievement Award by the Television Academy.Husted was born in Napa, Calif., and received his B.S. in cell biology from UC Davis, where he also played NCAA water polo. He earned an M.S. in journalism from Medill at Northwestern University, where he was honored as a Comer scholar for environmental journalism.NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Kristofor HustedFri, 12 Aug 2016 04:51:45 +0000Kristofor Hustedhttp://publicradiotulsa.org
Kristofor HustedThe town of Brookfield, in north-central Missouri, is a close-knit community with a population of about 4,500.Becky Cleveland, who grew up here, says that when she was a kid, there were four grocery stores. Today there is just one, and a nearby Wal-Mart.The vacant storefronts on Main Street make it clear that the town is no longer in its prime. Like many rural towns, Brookfield's top moneymakers in decades past were agriculture, transportation and manufacturing. While those industries still exist today, each has taken a hit. The town lost an auto plant. The railroad station is no longer bustling. And farming isn't bringing in as much as it used to.This story is a familiar one for thousands of towns across rural America. It mostly comes down to technology — because of advances like herbicide-resistant seeds and more efficient tractors, farms need fewer employees. The number of farm jobs in the U.S. plummeted by 14 percent between 2001 and 2013, according to the Department of AgricultureHow Rural Farming Communities Are Fighting Economic Declinehttp://publicradiotulsa.org/post/how-rural-farming-communities-are-fighting-economic-decline
103060 as http://publicradiotulsa.orgThu, 11 Aug 2016 17:25:00 +0000How Rural Farming Communities Are Fighting Economic DeclineKristofor HustedWhenever I'm out reporting in the field, I can tell many ranchers have a powerful connection with their cattle — it seems they can almost understand them. But researchers today are digging deeper to figure out exactly what cows are saying — and how they communicate through their moos.I drove out to the research farm at the University of Missouri to ask cattle geneticist Jared Decker to share his expert insights."I can't translate cow moos into English," he says. "But there are certain times when you can tell when the cattle are communicating with one another."In his experience, these are some meanings of the moo:They are trying to find their friends.When cows change environments, like moving from one farm to another, they will moo to try to connect with their friends as they figure out their new surroundings. Decker said it's like going to the school cafeteria after you've just left a classroom. When you enter the cafeteria, you look for your friends. Cows do the same thing when theyWhat Is The Meaning Behind The Moo?http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/what-meaning-behind-moo
99041 as http://publicradiotulsa.orgWed, 25 May 2016 15:38:00 +0000What Is The Meaning Behind The Moo?Kristofor HustedTurn on the TV and you can barely escape the acronym TPP.The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a free trade deal between the U.S. and 11 other countries that's currently being negotiated. Presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle are deriding the TPP, saying it's a bum deal that will hurt the U.S. economy and especially low-wage workers. But if you venture into the Midwest and ask a farmer about the TPP, you're likely to get a different answer."This pending TPP trade negotiation, to me, is hugely important for agricultural commodities, but specifically for beef," says Mike John, a cattle rancher in Huntsville, Mo. He's one of many Midwest farmers and ranchers who are bucking the political trend to dog the TPP.A coalition of more than 200 agriculture groups recently drafted an open letter urging congressional leaders to approve the TPP, saying the trade deal will help U.S. farmers stay competitive in an increasingly crowded world market.Free trade agreements remove tariffs onWhy Many Midwestern Farmers Are Pro-TPPhttp://publicradiotulsa.org/post/why-many-midwestern-farmers-are-pro-tpp
98261 as http://publicradiotulsa.orgMon, 09 May 2016 16:30:00 +0000Why Many Midwestern Farmers Are Pro-TPPKristofor HustedIn parts of the Middle East, people drink camel's milk for its nutritional value. It boasts more vitamin C and iron than cow's milk, and it's lower in fat. But in the American Midwest, some people are rubbing camel's milk on their skin — in the form of a skin-care line from Jordan.Penelope Shihab is the founder of a biotech company in Jordan — and the woman behind the Missouri startup that's working on the skin-care products.Scientists at Shihab's company in Amman, called MONOJO, have been analyzing the antibodies in camel's milk. These proteins help fight off infections, latching onto foreign pathogens and telling the body's immune system: "intruder alert." They typically degrade in higher temperatures and acidic environments. But the antibodies in camel's milk are stronger."We found that those proteins are very, very stable against temperature, high temperature, and against high acidity," Shihab says. "Maybe the reason [is] because the camel can tolerate high temperature in theWhat's Good For Baby Camels Could Be Good For Human Skinhttp://publicradiotulsa.org/post/whats-good-baby-camels-coul-be-good-human-skin
53811 as http://publicradiotulsa.orgMon, 03 Feb 2014 08:28:00 +0000What's Good For Baby Camels Could Be Good For Human SkinKristofor HustedIf you really love your peaches and want to shake a tree, there's a map to help you find one. That goes for veggies, nuts, berries and hundreds of other edible plant species, too.Avid foragers Caleb Philips and Ethan Welty launched an interactive map last month that identifies more than a half-million locations across the globe where fruits and veggies are free for the taking. The project, dubbed "Falling Fruit," pinpoints all sorts of tasty trees in public parks, lining city streets and even hanging over fences from the U.K. to New Zealand.The map looks like a typical Google map. Foraging locations are pinned with dots. Zoom in and click on one, and up pops a box with a description of what tree or bush you can find there. The description often includes information on the best season to pluck the produce, the quality and yield of the plant, a link to the species profile on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's website, and any additional advice on accessing the spot.Welty, aWant To Forage In Your City? There's A Map For Thathttp://publicradiotulsa.org/post/want-forage-your-city-theres-map
37848 as http://publicradiotulsa.orgTue, 23 Apr 2013 18:27:00 +0000Want To Forage In Your City? There's A Map For ThatKristofor HustedThis year's drought delivered a pricey punch to US aquaculture, the business of raising fish like bass and catfish for food. Worldwide, aquaculture has grown into a $119 billion industry, but the lack of water and high temperatures in 2012 hurt many U.S. fish farmers who were already struggling to compete on a global scale.At Osage Catfisheries, about one mile off the highway in rural, central Missouri, there are dozens of rectangular ponds with rounded corners. Some of them are empty, some have water, but not one is completely full.Co-owner Steve Kahrs dons a pair of shorts on an unusually warm December day and surveys his ponds. Today, the water is fairly still with a few ripples from the warm breeze. He stands in front of one pond filled with catfish about eight to 12 inches long and points to the dirty rings circling up a white PVC pipe for about a foot before it becomes white again."They're out of the water a ways," he says. "Our average depth is still about five feet. But we're aDrought Puts The Squeeze On Already Struggling Fish Farmshttp://publicradiotulsa.org/post/drought-puts-squeeze-already-struggling-fish-farms
31951 as http://publicradiotulsa.orgThu, 03 Jan 2013 20:48:00 +0000Drought Puts The Squeeze On Already Struggling Fish FarmsKristofor HustedLadies, if the thought of showing up at a party or a picnic with a box of wine seems a little gauche, there's now a product for you: Vernissage's "bag-in-a-bag" of wine. It's boxed wine, shaped like a handbag.Elliot Stern, CEO of Squish Wines, is in charge of importing the bags, which originate in Sweden, into the U.S. He says it's a "whole new concept of design" meant to appeal to a classy lady heading out to lunch with the girls or dinner with her significant other.More than half of female drinkers chose wine over other alcoholic beverages, according to a recent Gallup poll, so there's reason to think this might appeal to a few women out there.The idea for the wine purse originated a few years back in Sweden. Alternative wine packaging has been surging across Scandinavia, and luxury wine expert Takis Soldatos took notice, Stern says. Soldatos then paired up with the bag designer, Sofia Bloomberg, and came up with the Vernissage brand. Since its Swedish debut in 2010, the wine-in-aNo More Shame: Boxed Wine Now Comes In A High-End Fashion Pursehttp://publicradiotulsa.org/post/no-more-shame-boxed-wine-now-comes-high-end-fashion-purse
25461 as http://publicradiotulsa.orgMon, 03 Sep 2012 12:53:00 +0000No More Shame: Boxed Wine Now Comes In A High-End Fashion Purse